Author(s)

ELENA MARTÍNEZ SÁNCHEZ, MIRIAM CAMPANARIO ORANTES

Abstract

Rivers are key elements and sources of life: these are factors that have produced different scenarios through history and across various geographical environments. Three rivers have been considered as subject of study, which have created two different spaces allocated to industrial use and leisure. On the one hand, the Guadalquivir River, with a point of convergence of west Andalucía and which is the origin of important historical sites. Córdoba is located at the point where the river ceases to be navigable. Historically, this position has given this city the ability to dominate most of the communication routes in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. This made it possible to keep control of merchandise and people on the two sides of the river, and gave it the possibility of being the first city receiving products for commerce. This characteristic implies the use of the flows for industrial activity, such as constructing dams, water mills or flour mills along the course of the river. On the other hand, the Tajo and Jarama Rivers run through Aranjuez, in Madrid, and were modified to be given a leisure use by the Spanish Court. For this reason, several hydraulic engineering operations were developed, and consequently the courses were controlled by means of dams and canals. Both river flows were modified to provide two uses: the first one for commercial and industrial use, connecting the center of the peninsula through them. The second of these uses was recreational; fishing and navigation were developed in both rivers, and naumachias took place in an artificial sea constructed for its deployment.

Keywords

Tajo, Jarama, Guadalquivir, Córdoba, Aranjuez, rivers, water, cities, heritage